2LP, 180g
One Little Indian (2011) UK
The album title, Biophilia, refers to a love of all living things, and in every aspect of this game-changing multi-media effort, Bjork brilliantly connects nature, music, and technology. At the core of this groundbreaking project, of course, are Bjork sonically brilliant and emotionally stirring songs, akin to the magical, otherworldly, atavistic hymns of her acclaimed 2001 disc, Vespertine. On Vespertine, Bjork rhapsodized about a new romance; here, she attempts nothing less than to retell the story of the creation of the universe in her own compellingly idiosyncratic voice.
Bjork has revealed that Biophilia has been partly composed on iPad. She does not play conventional instruments, this way of composing appeals to her. New musical instruments were specially developed for the album, and specially for the shows at the Manchester International Festival that took place in mid-2011 to introduce the album. The 'gameleste' is a mixture between a gamelan and a celesta which was programmed in order to be played remotely by an iPad. "Crystalline," the lead single from the album, is mostly electronic and features a continuous 'gameleste' base with electronic beats and rhythms.